Outboard motor supporting trailer attachment



June 7, 1960 s. ANDERSON OUTBOARD MOTOR SUPPORTING TRAILER ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 19. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l M 2 w 2 3 2J 5 3 l 2 3 f w, :6 m a 2 8 4 W 3 3 INVENTOR I OUTBOARD MOTOR SUPPORTING TRAILER ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 19, 1958 June 7, 1960 s. ANDERSON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5.2. finds raon INVENT OR ATTORNEY United tfl s Patmf OUTBOARDMOTOR SUPPORTING TRAILER ATTACHIVIENT Sidney L. Anderson, Gold Hill, Oreg. (Rt. 1,Box 527, Central Point, Oreg Filed Sept. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 762,149 L Y 3 Claims. (Cl. 243-351) invention relates to a novel attachment of extremely simple construction capable of being readily mounted upon a conventional boat trailer and which may be utilized for partially supporting the weight of an outboard motor, attached to thetransom of a boat carried safely transported on the trailer without risk of damage to the boat transom or keel resulting from the weight of the outboard motor and the up and down movement of" the trailer chassis, boat and outboard motor, while traveling over rough roads. n t

A further object 'of the invention is to provide an outboard motor supporting trailer attachment which may be Patented June 7, 1969 11 extends through the outer ends of the arms of the fork 10 for journaling a roller 12 thereon between the fork arms. Nuts 13 thread ly engage the ends -of the axle 11," outwardly with respect to the fork arm, for maintaining said axle 'in engagement with the fork. The tongue portion 9, as illustrated, is disposed rearwardly with respect to the axle and ground engaging wheels, not shown, of the trailer, and above which a part of the tongue 9 is yieldably supported relative to the axle, as isconventional in two wheeled boat trailers. The tongue 9 is provided with a plurality of-additional rollers 14, one ofwhich is shown in Figure 1. Therear portion of a boat 15 is shown mounted on 'a trailer-andwith'the boat'keel '16 engaging the roller 14. 'The keel 16 also engages the roller412 in movement onto and 01f of the trailer. A portion-ofaconventional outboard motor 17 is shown with a clamp 18 thereof secured in a a conventional manner to the transom 19 of the boat 15. All of the parts previously described are of conventional construction and are illustrated merely to afiord a better understanding of the mounting and use of the attachment 8. i

The attachmentS includes two rigid bars 20 and 21 which are connected to one another by ahinge 22, the leaves 23 and 24 of which are secured to complementary sides of the bars 20 and 21, respectively, j as best seen in Figure 3. The hinge 22 is arranged so that when the quickly and easily applied to a boat trailer and which requires the useof no tools in connecting the supporting motor or in disconnecting-it invention is toprovide 'such a supporting attachment which may be left mounted upon the trailer when not in use, and which will not interfere I with the movement ofa' boat onto or olf'of a trailer.

Still another object of the'inventionris to provide an attachment which may be adjustablypositioned to most conveniently; engagea' part'of an outboard motor for supporting the outboard motor at a most desirable carrying angle relative to the boat transom; 7 I p,

--Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a prese'ntly preferred embodiment thereof, and'wherein: 7 I

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the outboard motor supporting attachment in an applied and operative position in relation to a rear portion of a trailer and boat and an outboard motor engaged by the attachment;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view partly in top plan, taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged substantially horizontal sectional view on an enlarged scale of the supporting attachment, taken substantially along a plane asindicated by the line 33 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view, taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure 3, and

Figures 5 and 6 are cross sectional views, taken substantially along planes as indicated by" the lines 5-5 and 66, respectively, of Figure 3.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating a preferred application. and use of the outboard motor supporting trailer attachment, designated generally 8 and comprising the invention, a rear end portion of a boat trailer tongue 9 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2., and hasa fork 10 connected to and.

projecting from the rear end of said tongue. An axle leaves 23 and 24 thereof are extended relative to one another the bars 20 and 21 will be disposed in extended positions relative to one another with adjacent ends there-- of in abutting engagement. v n

' The bar 20 is provided at its other innerend with a crosshead' formed of corresponding laterally "extending armss25 "which are disposed in alignment with one an other and eachof which is provided'with spaced openings 26; V crossarms 25 to'form a fork 28. Each angle member 27 has an arm 29 which isdisposed against the outer side of one of the arms 25 and which is provided with longitudinally spaced openings 30 to selectively register withthe-openings 26 of said arm' 25 for receiving a 'nut and bolt fastening 31. The other arms 32 of the'angle members 27 extend outwardly from the remote ends of the armsi29and'are disposed substantially parallel to one another for straddling the arms of the fork.10. --Said fork arms i32 are provided with apertures 33 through which '11. The openings 26 and 30 enable adjustment of 'the arms 29 outwardly or inwardly relative to the crossarms 25 for varying the width of the fork 28 for straddlin forks 10 of different widths.

The outer bar 21 has a bifurcated outer end 34, preferably in the form of a substantially V-shaped fork, as best seen in Figures 2 and'3. A cushioning member 35, preferably formed of soft rubber, completely lines the interior of the fork 34 and includes sleeve portions 36 which encase and snugly engage the outer portions of the furcations of the fork 34 for retaining the cushioning member 35 in an applied position.

The bolt of a nut and bolt fastening 37 extends transversely through the bar 20, adjacent to but spaced from the bar 21, and loosely through an opening 38 in one end'of a latch bar 39, for swingably mounting said latch Two angle members 27 combine-with the 34 for securely holdingthe bar 21 in an extended posi- I tion, as illustrated in the drawings.

The latch bar 39 can be swung upwardly and inwardly toa released position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 2, out of engagement withtheouter bar 21, so that, the bar 21' can be swung inwardly about the axis of the hinge 22 to a. folded position thereof, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 2. Verticallyspaced ears 41 project laterally from the bar 20 to receive and frictionally grip therebetween a portion of the bar 21, when said bar 21 isswung' to its folded position. The ears 41 may form extensions ofthe top and bottom edges of the hinge leaf23, as illustrated in Figure 6.

With the bar. 21 latched in an extended position by being engaged by the yoke 49 of the latch bar 3?; the support Sis swung upwardly, about the axle 11 to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, as seen in Figure 1, so that a part of the housing, 42 of the outboard motors 17 can be snugly. engaged in the fork 34,,for partially supportingthe weight of the outboard motor 17in a raised position relative to the boat transom 19. The angle of the support 8 may be varied, relative to its position of Figure l, for engaging the motor housing 42 either above or below the position as shown in Figure l, for supporting the outboard motor 17 at a most convenient angle. The cushioning liner 2-5 prevents the outboard motor housing 42 from being damaged by contact with the support '8. It will be readily apparent that the support 8 will relieve the boat transom 19 of a substantial part of 7 cushion vibratory movement of, the outboard motor 17..

It will be understood that while the boat is being moved into ,a position on the trailer or being removed therefrom, that the support 8 will be disengagedfrom the outboardmotor 17 and will be swung downwardly-to a downwardly inclined position relative to the tongue 9 so as not to obstruct such movement of the boat and outboard motor relative .to the trailer. is not in use, as when a boat. isnot mounted on: the

trailer,.said,support is folded. as shown in dotted lines in' Figure 2. and may be permittedto hang in a depending.

position beneath the axle Y11 and will not extend below the level of the trailer axle. If. preferred, the support 8,

When the support 8 while folded, may beswung upwardly andforwatdly to a, position overlying and restingpn the tongue 9.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the supporting attachment 8 may be quickly and easily mounted upon a conventional boat trailer and may be quickly and easily adjusted froma folded to an extended position or conversely and maybe engaged with or disengaged from the housing of anoutboard motor, without the use of any tools. 7

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted'to,.without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims. 1 j

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination with a trailer tongue having a rear end provided with a fork and a roller supporting axle extending through said fork and having ends projecting outwardly from opposite sides of the fork; an outboard motor supportinglattachment comprising an elongated bar,

having an inner end and an outer end, a fork connected to the inner endof said bar, said fork straddling the trailer tongue fork, said axle ends. extending through the bar fork for swingably mounting the bar on the. axle, and a. fork forming an extension of the outer end of the-bar and adapted 'to receive therein a part of an. outboard motor housing for partially supporting the weight of an;

outboard motor attached to a boat which is mounted ona trailer of which the trailer tongue for'rnsa part.

2. A combination as defined by claim 1, said bar forksv being disposed substantially coplanar, said bar comprising end sections, a hinge joint connecting said end sections of the bar between the forks thereof, and the .axis of said hinge joint'being disposed perpendicular to the plane of the barforks.

3. A combination as defined by claim 2, and a rigid latch member swingably connected to one of the bar sec-.

tions and having a free end provided with a yoke portion;

straddling the other bar section, in an operative position of. saidlatch member, for retaining said. bar sections in extended positions relative to one another.

7 References Cited in the file of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS- 

